Visiting Bahá’í Holy Places/Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh
Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh[edit]
“The Qiblih is indeed He Whom God will make manifest; whenever He moveth, it moveth, until He shall come to rest.”¹ (Bahá’u’lláh)
“We have enjoined obligatory prayer upon you . . . . When ye desire to perform this prayer, turn ye towards the Court of My Most Holy Presence, this Hallowed Spot that God hath made the Centre round which circle the Concourse on High, and which He hath decreed to be the Point of Adoration for the denizens of the Cities of Eternity, and the Source of Command unto all that are in heaven and on earth; and when the Sun of Truth and Utterance shall set, turn your faces towards the Spot that We have ordained for you. He, verily, is the Almighty and the Omniscient.” ² (Bahá’u’lláh)
The room in which Bahá’u’lláh was laid to rest shortly after sunset on the day of His Ascension, 29 May 1892, had been the northernmost room in the home of His son-in-law, Siyyid ‘Alí Afnán. Shoghi Effendi, as Head of the Faith, was awarded permanent custody of the Shrine in the early 1920s after a crisis precipitated by the Covenant-breakers who occupied the Mansion and the buildings adjacent to it. He improved the entrance of the Shrine and added the portico in 1940, and erected the carved oak door in 1957.
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"Public access to the heart of the Qiblih of the Bahá’í World is now made possible through traversing the sacred precincts leading successively to the Holy Court, the outer and inner sanctuaries, the Blessed Threshold and the Holy of Holies." (Shoghi Effendi)
"The 'sacred precincts' referred to in this message are the properties of the Faith in Bahji, including the Mansion of Bahá’u’lláh to the east of the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh and the gardens and landscaping surrounding the Shrine.
"The 'Holy Court' is the Haram-i-Aqdas, which consists of the landscaping and formal gardens providing a befitting approach to the Shrine as well as to the Mansion. This is sometimes referred to in the writings of the Guardian as the outer sanctuary of the Shrine....
"The 'outer sanctuary' more specifically also refers to the small court with a small gate, a portico and a few steps leading to the entrance door of the inner sanctuary of the Shrine....
"The "inner sanctuary' is the roofed area consisting of a beautiful central garden, the surrounding paths of which are covered with rugs, and where the privileged pilgrims and visitors stand in prayer and view the 'Blessed Threshold" and 'the Holy of Holies,' where lies interred, in the words of the Guardian, 'the holiest dust the earth ever received into its bosom."" 4